Dressing Up
While boys reckon they don’t like playing dressing up, and girls go loopy for the chance to get out the glitter and pink feather boa, there is a way of getting both sexes outdoors, enjoying fresh air and healthy activity in the hot days of summer. Head down to your local charity shop and buy some props, then fill up the paddling pool with warm water and baby shampoo to make lots of bubbles and let rip. Themes for outdoor dressing up events can include:
Punks
You need to buy lots of black clothing, black and red face paints, and some cans of cheap hairspray – let the little darlings stretch their imaginations by spiking their hair and pogo-ing – which is even more fun if you have a trampoline set up on the lawn.
Predator
Boys love the idea of this one in particular. Draw straws to decide who will be the predator: he or she gets to play with the scaly skin and red eyes concept via face paint, while the rest of the gang have to try to camouflage themselves as soldiers in khaki clothing etc. Divide up water pistols filled with paint containing washable food dye. Predator gets one of those pump action water guns with blue paint while the soldiers only get little hand held guns with paint in yellow or red. Now let the battle begin! Remember that you need to supervise and that areas of the garden they can’t run through need to be clearly indicated in advance, and maybe even marked off with canes and string. Award a prize to the winner.
Ancient History
This dress-up works especially well on afro hair. Try and find props and clothing that look as old fashioned as you can: swords and fans, curtains can double as cloaks, old nighties for the girls to wear as dresses. Roll some newspaper into a cone with a hole at the narrow end as well as the wide one and drape a bin bag over the child’s shoulders. Now grab a couple of containers of talcum powder and powder that hair! You’ll have a garden full of little Mozarts and Queen Elizabeth the Firsts in no time. Check no child has asthma first though. Now get them to wash off their fun in the paddling pool you prepared earlier.